


No Imitations

by caitlinrose923



Series: Plain White T's/Song Project [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-08 17:18:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20839175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caitlinrose923/pseuds/caitlinrose923
Summary: Emma Swan is terrified of heights. Can her boyfriend help her out?





	No Imitations

**Author's Note:**

> (Title and lyrics from Plain White T's 'No Imitations')
> 
> Un-betaed.
> 
> Rated T for language

“Killian, I really hate heights,” Emma whined. Her boyfriend was dragging her down the Pavilion towards a very, _very_ high ferris wheel.

“This ride offers the best views in Vegas, Swan! It’ll be fun. _Trust me_,” he begged.

He never asked for much. He’d asked her out to begin with, of course, and then had let her come to him in her own time. He’d never pushed, never slammed into her metaphorical walls aggressively, preferring to tap at them gently until he found the cracks in them naturally. He didn’t ask her for attention, for affection, for time. He let her give as much or as little as she wanted.

This trip had been no different. They’d been talking about getting away, but they were on a semi-limited budget. So a few days in a cheesy casino/hotel combination in Las Vegas might not have been the most relaxing vacation, but there were Groupons on Groupons on Groupons for cheap hotel rooms and even discounted event tickets. So while it wasn’t exactly the a cruise through Caribbean, it was still something Emma had been looking forward to. It had been Killian’s suggestion, but he’d let her take the reins, allowing her to pick all of their activities, save for the last day of their trip. He’d said he’d wanted to plan just _that one day_ and she’d agreed.

But she hadn’t known that it would entail… this. The ferris wheel loomed over her, lit up against the night sky. 

Now, Killian Jones wouldn’t be pushing her to do this dumb (scary) ride if he didn’t have a very good reason. It didn’t slip past Emma that she’d only just told Killian about her fear of heights two weeks before he’d chosen Vegas as their destination of choice.

_“I was stranded for hours,” Emma admitted. “My foster parents forgot I was on the ride and left the carnival entirely, and then the stupid ride broke and--” She’d promised herself she wouldn’t cry - the carnival story was twenty years ago, she should have moved on by now. She shouldn’t be crying. But there she was, sobbing about a fucking ferris wheel while her boyfriend looked at her with nothing but pity._

_Great._

_“That’s horrifying, love. Of all the stories of your past that you’ve told me, that certainly sounds like one of the worst.” He stood then and held her. It was that simple for him: she was sad, so he’d make it better. If words wouldn’t do it, perhaps a hug._

_It worked. At least a little._

“Killian, _please_ stop walking for one second.”

He stopped and turned to her, squeezing her hand once.

“Emma, I won’t force you to do this if you really don’t want to.” He took her other hand, apparently not caring that they’d stopped in the middle of a busy walkway (much to the annoyance of the passersby if their grumbles were any indication). “But I really think you’ll enjoy it. I wouldn’t ask you to do it if I didn’t truly believe that.” He was looking right into her eyes in that special way - the one he only used when he really wanted her to listen to him.

She sighed.

“Fine. But you can’t make me look out the window.”

He laughed and hugged her, pulling her flush against him. A soft _deal_ was whispered from his mouth to her ear, followed by a kiss to her cheek.

“Alright, mate, we’ve got tickets for three trips ‘round,” Killian told the ticket taker.

“_Three_?” Emma screeched. “That wasn’t what I agreed to.” Killian looked at her, smirked, and turned back to the employee.

“When we get done the first time, if she wants to get off, we will. Ladies’ choice.”

Emma grumbled the whole time they climbed into their small pod. There was a ton of space, but it was all empty.

“Why is no one else in here with us? There were like thirty people in the last one.” Emma sat on one of the plush couches, facing anywhere that wasn’t _outside_.

“I bought the whole room.” Killian stood by the window, his back to Emma.

“You did _what_?” She still wasn’t looking at him.

“I bought it so it’s private. Just you and me.”

Before she could question this huge financial decision Killian had made without her, music started. _Their song_ started. Emma looked up, only to see Killian setting up his phone and some portable speaker on the floor.

_And when the morning comes and the sunlight’s creepin’_  
_And you wanna hide underneath your sheets_  
_Even wide awake with your makeup streakin’_  
_You’re still a dream_

“Killian, what are you doing?”

“Would you like to dance, Emma?”

“Killian, _what are you doing_?” Her voice came out as more of a hiss. She turned towards the window only to have Killian step in front of her.

“Just look at me, Emma. Nothing else. Let’s dance, love.” He held out his hand and she took it, realizing she was shaking. 

“You know I don’t dance, Killian.” She stood as she said it, giving in to her gut feeling: she wanted to trust him.

“What do I tell you every time you try to get out of dancing with me, Swan?” He twirled her around the empty room, keeping himself directly in her line of vision. They danced slowly, even during the fast-paced chorus of the song.

_Now that I found you, _  
_I won’t accept no imitations._  
_No, I don’t want nobody else._  
_No, I don’t want nobody._

“‘Pick a partner who knows what he’s doing.’” She laughed at her own imitation of his accent. He didn’t laugh with her, just smiled fondly.

“That’s right,” he responded softly. “And that’s me, for better or worse. Your partner, in this and in all things.”

Emma felt like something bigger was happening. Something bigger than her fear of heights or this dumb ferris wheel or the entire city of Las Vegas.

She felt her heart stutter in her chest.

When the song ended, Killian suddenly turned her around. He kept his arms around her waist as she found herself directly in front of the window. Her body shook but Killian rubbed soothing motions on her arms. Their song started playing again.

The view was beautiful. The sky was pitch black and the lights of the city shone below them. She couldn’t make out any people, they were so high up, just moving blobs. She looked out and the city seemed endless.

_Oh_.

“How you doing, Swan?” Killian whispered against her cheek. “We can sit if you need to.” His hands didn’t stop moving up and down her arms, keeping her grounded.

“No,” she replied so quietly she wasn’t sure if he’d even heard her. “I’m okay.” He nodded and she felt the movement against her shoulder.

“I’m going to step back quickly, okay? You’re alright?”

Emma nodded. Tears filled her eyes. What had she been missing by not looking down all these years? She’d avoided roller coasters and ferris wheels and hotel rooms any higher than eight stories up. She’d never seen anything like this.

“Emma?” Killian asked behind her - she’d almost forgotten he was there, engrossed as she was with the city below her. She turned to find him with one knee on the ground and a box in his hand.

_Oh fuck_.

“I meant what I said. About being your partner in all things.” He was sweating, Emma could see. Just a small line of sweat across his hairline, it would have been barely noticeable to anyone else. But Emma knew what Killian's tells were. Sure enough, he reached up with his right hand, balancing the ring box on his prosthetic left, and scratched behind his ear. “If you’ll have me, that is. What I mean to say is… Emma Swan, will you marry me?”

“Yes.” She heard herself answer, felt a smile creep up her face, tasted the tears that were falling from her eyes. “Yes, a million times, yes.”

He stood and pulled her to him.

The door to the pod opened as their lips met.

“Another round, mate. Thanks.” Killian growled, not moving away from Emma for even a moment.

The door closed again, and their song started back up, and they kissed the whole way around, missing the view from the top. So they went around again, and by the end, Emma wasn’t so afraid of heights anymore.


End file.
